What if autoconf could be replaced by moving the configuration steps into makefiles, rather than vice-versa?

File paths and library lists can already be handled nicely with systems like pkg-config, with the only requirement that the pkg-config tool be in the path.

Why not move feature-detection and other configure sort of tasks into makefiles too?

A library of makefile pieces could be built that represent various autoconf tests, stored in a central directory like /usr/share/pkgconfig, ready for inclusion into GNUmakefiles. Rules might look like this:

include $(shell pkg-config gnuconf-make --variable=MAKEFILE)

all:	check-configuration


PKGCONFIG_PACKAGES=gtk2 atk lua-5.0.0

check-configuration: check-c-compiler check-cpp check-ld my-custom-check check-pkgconfig-packages


my-custom-check:

	do something here to check some part of the build

I’ve got a friend, and have had many more in the past who’ve been on SSRI and SNRI drugs like Prozac and Effexor, and had bad to horrible withdrawal syndromes.

These drugs increase availability of serotonin (and norepinephrine in SNRIs) in the brain by limiting the reuptake of the chemicals by the receptors. The drugs tend to create a dependance (though how bad varies from user to user pretty drastically), and discontinuation can cause some very serious side effects. There’s a ton of ongoing controversy about how the drug companies mislead consumers about the safety of the drugs, and adding to that that patients are often not able to get enough of a physician’s time for a conversation about possible side-effects, especially in low-income situations, and additionally when mental health issues — the very problem the drugs are to treat — are present, getting adequate support and information to make a decision is very hard.

The science of prescribing the right amount to treat a “chemical imbalance”-caused depression is nearly voodoo, since the tests to determine correct levels would involve measuring neurotransmitter levels, which would essentially involve a central nervous system biopsy. That’s not possible on a regular basis for any patient, and so diagnosis is by symptom only. The drug companies advertise a theme of “correcting chemical imbalances” so heavily that I’ve seen a lot of people leap to the conclusion that they have one, without any evidence.

In particular to the research at hand, one friend is having a very hard time discontinuing a drug because of the withdrawal syndrome. She suffers from it to the point where she has partial seizures. I’m researching ways to wean off the drugs, but it’s hard. XR versions are time-release, and the pills are not divisible because it breaks the time-release mechanisms.

As far as I’ve read, the primary reason for the withdrawal is a relatively sudden drop in the level of serotonin in the brain. I’m wondering about and looking for information on dietary supplementation of tryptophan (which is converted into serotonin in the body). Foods I’ve found so far that might help include turkey, black eyed peas, walnuts, eggs¹, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, dairy products (especially cheddar and and swiss-style cheeses), and to a lesser extent grains.

I’d love to hear more from people who’ve had success weaning themselves off of SSRI and SNRI antidepressants when it was difficult. Was diet a factor? What else did you do?

¹ I suppose that might be why I saw a relatively large positive effect on my mental health when I started eating eggs again. Other than correcting the complete lack of saturated fats and cholesterols in my diet.

Just do it. Surprisingly yum.

I just got back from the hot springs. It’s the first rain of the spring tonight, coming down gently and mostly in tiny drops, tiny pinpricks of cold. Sitting half in water that’s hot to the touch. I could feel the drink I had earlier leaving through my pores, my skin waking up and my whole body relaxing into the water.

It’s cathartic, putting my whole body in alignment with my mind. I just feel whole right now.

I’m eating a Ritter Sport bar and thinking of lightwalker

We were shopping at Target today, and I’m checking out next to , and the checker looks up at us and says “Hello, guys”, then glances at my chest, shakes her head, and says “Oh, er,… well, … hello.. .guys”

It was amusing.

It’s just been the week for small injuries for me. After stabbing myself with a screw driver yesterday, today I tore out of the driveway on my bike like I usually do, cold cranking it in low gear to get over the rough ground.

What I didn’t anticipate is that yesterday, I took the exact path I did today. It was solid, a little loose rock on top, but nothing unexpected. Today, I hit it doing 15 miles per hour, and instead of the rough but ridable I had yesterday, it had thawed underneath and formed a six inch deep pool of rock, perfect for stopping me dead in the three foot space it occupied. I went head over handlebars and landed tits up on the ground, wincing a little as my bike fell back down and flopped over.

Note to self: Mother earth is a bitch. Don’t let her get the upper hand next time.

I just picked up a Nikon D70 from a friend. It’s really nice to be working with a camera and lenses that have apertures somewhat more varied than my Fuji S5200’s 4-8, and a bigger sensor to boot. The Nikon sensor is just slightly grainier at ISO 800 than the Fuji is at ISO 100. Apertures as wide as 1.8 on the 50mm lens I’m using are fun!

I made blueberry-strawberry pie today in honor of pi day. Tastiest sacraments ever.

I used empanada dough instead of pie dough, and I like it a lot better. It’s easier to work with, too, since you can re-roll it and it won’t get tough. It’s fine-textured, and flakey in a different way than pie dough. I like the way it flakes better too.

A recipe — filling:

1/4 C flour, 1/2 C sugar, 3-4 cups mixed berries, half a lemon’s juice. Stir until it’s a slightly mushy consistency. Kinda like oatmeal, only awesome instead of gross.

Dough (translated from Spanish):

1 cup flour, 1 stick butter (cut in pieces), a quarter teaspoon of salt, blended well. Add a third of a cup of boiling water and mix until it forms a smooth, elastic dough.

Roll like pie dough, but without the fuss and hands-off approach. Just go for it, the dough won’t even stick to much thanks to the butter melted through it. Bake at 350°F until the crust starts to crisp.

I’ve been living under a rock this month. Polis, the nbtsc.org server, crashed, and I’m still spending a lot of time fixing things.

Bailey’s out of town

Work alternates insane and try-not-to-go-insane.

Sorry I’ve not been more present. I’m mostly taking care of me at the moment, but it’s making me a fickle friend.

There’s a girl I’m crushing on. It’s mutual. And low-impact, time-wise. Working well despite my crazy month.

more later.

Polis, the server for nbtsc.org, went down with a two-disk glitch int its storage system. That’s Not Good in general. It took 30 hours to rebuild the filesystem, but most things are intact. Mail should be up later today, web sites shortly following. I hope.

I came home tonight to the biggest surprise I could have.

The house is clean. Utterly tidy. Everything where it belongs. Floors swept, clothes washed, dishes done. All the little things that slipped by the wayside while baileyjordan was not feeling well after his surgery, and while I was sick.

I feel like I just came out of a three-month hibernation, starting some time before the insanity of the winter holidays, and ending now, with a bright sunny day, a surprise of a clean house, and a day at work where I left feeling like I got everything done.

I realize how much I’ve neglected parts of my life. Taking care of little things, staying in touch with friends. Making phone calls, both pleasure and business. Replying to emails. It’s been stressful, and tonight, I feel like that’s gone. I’m hoping I can keep it that way.

fish_kid has lived with us a month today. It’s good, even if our house really is too small.

We’re looking for a larger place to live. I’m not looking forward to moving if (more like when, I suspect) we do, but I no longer fear the cleaning that we’ll have to do on this place. I was dreading it, and I was letting it ruin my outlook on change in life. A very needed change. At the moment, there’s no place in my house I can be alone, and with the winter still in full swing here, my usual hideouts of late-night walks by the river to call friends and talk while I’m out aren’t an option. I am becoming a bit of a flake because of it. I miss the little bits of me that I’ve left on the shelf lately, the parts I only get out when I’m alone and have the night to myself. I will reclaim them.

Hibernation does have its benefits, though. I’ve laughed through a few seasons of House and of Bones with Bailey, while he was laid up, and I’ve written a webserver toolkit that’s shaping up nicely. I’ve learned some intricacies of a programming language I love but have never had time to really learn in depth. I’ve written something useful that doesn’t really exist out there, and fills a niche.

Rules:

• Every time a tax form’s instructions refer you to the instructions for another form to determine eligibility, take a sip.
• Every time a tax is more than 20% more than expected, take a sip.
• if that tax is more than double what you expected, take a chug. If you took a sip then a chug, refill your glass and take another chug.
• Every time you see a convenience for especially small payers of tax that no business or individual could ever hope to use since amounts that small haven’t existed since the depression, check this box [ ] and take a chug.
• Line 5: please enter the number of alcoholic drinks consumed so far: [ ]
• Line 6: If you are not drunk yet, enter the number of drinks required to get you drunk: [ ]
• Line 7: If line 6 is larger than line 5, enter the difference here: [ ]
• Line 8: If line 5 is larger than line 6, please calculate your blood alcohol level and enter it here: [ ]
• If line 8 is smaller than 1%, take a chug

So I picked up my phone last night, and managed to drop it backward over my shoulder into a pan of water.

Don’t do this at home, guys.